Skinner Healed Up, Ready To Go

Gary Housteau

07/24/2004

Among the future Buckeyes taking the field in tonight's Big 33 game (7 pm, broadcast in Ohio Thursday on Fox Sports) is OL Jon Skinner of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. Skinner says his knee injury is healed and he is set for tonight's game and the season ahead.

Apparently the committee to select the players to participate in the Big 33
game were spooked enough by the knee injury to Jon Skinner of Mount Carmel Area
High School that he suffered in his junior year that they originally left him
off the Pennsylvania roster. But his knee is fine and he was added to the team
in May, so Skinner is just excited for the opportunity to play in the all-star
game now.

"I had surgery after my junior year but it's good to go now. It's 100
percent and I'll be ready to go this year up at Ohio State," said Skinner
who tore his ACL in the third game of the year and came back in time to finish
that year. "I went through last year with no other injuries or anything
like that and it just felt good."

Ironically, Skinner first met his special needs buddy for the Big
33 game when he was rehabbing his knee injury and the two have had an ongoing
relationship.

"I've known him for some time now and I knew he was going to be my
buddy," Skinner said. "I really love being around kids like him. I got
to experience some of that when I had to rehab my knee. It makes you happy to be
around him and at the same time it makes you realize how fortunate you are to
play in a game like this."

Prior to coming to the Big 33 camp, Skinner spent a week working out in
Columbus with some of his Pennsylvania teammates who will also be his future
Buckeye teammates.

"I was up at Ohio State for a week working out," he said. "It
was good to meet a bunch of the guys and get used to the workouts just to get
acclimated and everything. I knew a couple of the Ohio (All-Star) players going
in but I got to meet some of the guys that were already on the team, a couple of
the older guys, the veterans."

He'll be lining up against some of those same Ohio guys he was working out
with when he was in Columbus.

"It will be a lot of fun going against them because they're going to be
my teammates in couple of weeks," Skinner said. "It will be fun
working hard against them and getting to battle them during the game."

Jon Skinner with his buddy

Skinner is slated to line up at left tackle for the game, next to Kyle Mitchum at left guard.

"It's good to be working together with each other so we'll be able to
work together again back at Ohio State when we go out there. So it's been a good
week for us to get used to working with each other," said Skinner who had
met Mitchum previous to this summer. "We both took our official visits to
Ohio State at the same time, so we got to hang out there for a little bit, and
he was at a couple of the games that I was at so we knew each other a little bit
before we got here."

And at times Rory Nicol at tight end will flank Skinner on the left give the
Pa. offense a definite Ohio State flavor.

"Yeah there will be times during the game that all three of us will be
playing there together," he said. "So that will be pretty neat doing
that."

Like the other three future Buckeyes on the Pennsylvania roster, Skinner
couldn't be happier about going to Ohio State.

"It's just great. It's a real great program and it's good football and
everything," he said. "It's just real great to go out there and be
able to play for them."

The entire experience of being involved with the Big 33 has also been great
for Skinner.

"It's been a great week and we had a lot of fun out here," he said.
"You get to meet a bunch of the great guys and have some good competition
against a lot of good players and get in some good work before we have to go to
camp in a couple of weeks"

Of course, a victory in the Big 33 game is important for Skinner, being in
the minority with his three other Keystone teammates when they get to Ohio
State.

"It's an honor to be selected to play in this game, but we really want
to go out there and win because when we're at Ohio State they'll be able to have
something on us for those four years if they beat us," he said. "So
we've got to get them Saturday and come out with a win."